Musings in Water
by Jadeling
Summary: While swimming Ami starts reflecting about her old memories of a certain Earth general when she lived on the Moon.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer:  I don't own Sailor Moon.  Never have, never will, I wrote this fic. for my enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of others.  I did not receive payment for this work nor do I expect anyone to pay me after I finish._

_Author's__ Notes:  Ami is my favorite character from Sailor Moon.  I thought I'd try to my hand at an Ami/Zoi story.  That and __Phoenix__ (my muse) refused to help me finish **Buried Memories** if I didn't at least write this.  So for all of my PoT fans, don't worry, I'll finish **Buried Memories**, but I had to take a break._

_Format of the story is mostly disjointed memories.  Italics are for thoughts and flashbacks.  Flashbacks are identified by *~*~ _

_Why, why, why?__ I'll never understand why I do this to myself._ The petite woman said to herself as she walked through the streets of Tokyo. It had stopped snowing some two hours ago, but it was the first opportunity that she had to be by herself that Sunday.  A burst of frigid wind went through the crowded streets.  Everyone around her pulled their coats tighter around their bodies, those wearing caps, pulled them down, and they all walked a little quicker, all except for her.  The cold never really affected her; in fact, she preferred it.  

She sighed.  Her musings directed at old memories, not even really hers, but from a past life.  Normally the memories didn't bother her, sometimes they helped her, but right now they were annoying her.  To be more specific the memories of **him** were bothering her.  She couldn't remember when **those **memories started to surface.  No, that wasn't true; they started after Mamoru revealed to the other scouts that the stones containing the souls of his four generals had shattered.  He didn't know how it happened nor did he know what happened to the generals.  It was over a month ago and that's when the first pesky dream began.  She frowned; it was the first time she made that connection.  Before she had time to analyze that coincidence she had gotten to her destination, the health club. 

 As she entered, strangers couldn't help but stare at her.  She was small; dainty was a fairly good description.  Her skin was pale, white laced with a faint rose color to it.  However, what always got people's attention was the hair, it was always cut in a nice clean cute bob; no, that wasn't the source of the attention, it was the color.  It was blue.  Dark blue.  To those who didn't know her, the first thoughtwas: _ Must be into some punk rock or some new fad.  No way, that's her natural color.  _Yet after years of the same reaction, Ami had learned to ignore the stares.  She walked confidently towards the locker room to the pool.  When she emerged out of the pool, the lifeguard on duty grinned.  Ami was a regular, and unlike some of the patrons of the club, was always polite, kind, and courteous to everyone, guest or staff.  He watched as she walked towards one end of the pool; she had the look on her face.  He sapphire eyes were clouded and slightly narrowed.  The guard knew her well enough to know that look meant something was bothering her, which was why she had come to the pool today.  She always swam laps whenever something bothered her.  The pool was never a particularly noisy place; she could concentrate on her problem in peace while she swam.  He watched as she got into a lane and started to swim freestyle.  Even though she wasn't going at full speed, he could tell that she belonged in the water.  The fluidity, the grace, it was like the water was her home.  He probably wouldn't be too surprised if he were told that it really was.

While the guard turned his attentions to the other few in and around the pool, Ami began to think about her latest dream.  Like all of the other dreams, she remembered having in the past month it was more like a memory during her time on the moon, with him.   At first, the dreams were abstract, blurry, disjointed, however, lately they have started to be clearer, more concise and she had no idea why they started in the first place.  She supposed it did have something to do with stones breaking.  Yet, when she asked the others if they were haunted by memories of the past, they all voiced a negative response.  It was possible that they were lying, because it was a personal matter, but they were all so close that it seemed hard to believe that they would lie about something like this.  So why?  Why did she have to be bothered by these memories, these dreams of him?  A frown came over her porcelain face as she did a flip at the wall, were these dreams the reason Ryo told her he wouldn't be around anymore.  It was about 2 months before the memories cropped up; they had met at her favorite café.  She remembered that he seemed anxious; she asked him what was wrong. 

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_"I'm leaving __Tokyo__ Ami.  I'm leaving for a job at the end of the month."_

_"And you're telling me now?  I thought we were going to the circus next month, and you said that you wanted to spend New Year's with us-"  She managed to stutter out from her shocked mouth._

_"I know."  He told her; his voice was gloomy, but it had another odd quality to it she couldn't identify.  "But I can't stay Ami.  Look we both know that we love each other, but we're not in love with each other.  I think a little time away will be good for both of us."  She noticed that while he spoke he hardly looked her in the eyes._

_"You saw something didn't you Ryo?  What did you see?"  She inquired quietly._

_His uncomfortable silence was all the confirmation she needed that he had visions of the near future.  Normally he didn't hesitate to reveal a vision if it was relevant to her or the other senshi, especially if his visions included some new enemy, but since Chaos, things have been relatively calm.  Therefore, his silence was beginning to make her feel uncomfortable as well._

_"Ami," he began slowly, unsure of himself.__ "I-I'm not sure if I should tell you.  It may only upset you more.  You know not everybody is supposed to know what destiny has in store for him or her.  Look it's not a new enemy or anything like that, it's just, geez, I'm not sure how to say this, but, well, the girls and you are going to hear some news, and you're going to need to some time alone to work out what ever issues you have."  He mumbled out.  "If I'm here it'll only make things harder for you.  It's for the best; really it is Ami."_

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Yet here she was three months later without one of her dear friends, and trying to figure out why of all people her thoughts would drift back to **him**.  It wasn't like he was here in the present.  The last time she saw him, was a couple of years ago, and he was evil.  _Hear that?__  Evil, my opponent, my enemy, I shouldn't think about him.  He tried to kill me, correction he almost killed all of us in this lifetime.  Not going to think about him, no matter what may have happened between us on the moon._  She winced as she thought of the moon.  It was a bad idea mentioning it, because she suddenly was reminded of the different times they spent together.  Ami had reached the end of the pool again and decided to switch strokes to the backstroke.  The backstroke allowed her to relax and concentrate on her current state of mind.  As she gazed up at the skylights on the ceiling, she started to reflect on all of her dreams and the old memories that those dreams brought up again.  She decided to start from the beginning, not the day the first met, but the day they both appeared on each other's radar.

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_It had been a week since the delegation from Earth had arrived on the moon.  It seemed that all of the rumors about them were true.  Prince Endymion was handsome and very polite, although he and Princess Serenity seemed to be more than friendly with each other.  Ami and the other princesses noticed how her face would light up whenever he entered a room, nor did they miss how his smile seemed to grow whenever he noticed her.  They were happy for Serenity, it was good for her to find a new friend, instead of brushing off an annoying new suitor, but still, the two needed to be careful on how people perceived them._

_The generals, who came along with the prince, were a bit of a puzzle, they had varying personalities, but overall they were very loyal and friendly with the prince.  She supposed it was the same type of relationship that the others and she had with Serenity.  She shrugged and went into the library; it was quiet and she started down one aisle not really sure what she wanted to look for, but finally decided on a volume of poems by ancient poets of __Neptune__.  As she made her way to the reading area the lights went out, she became aware of low murmurs coming from the entrance.  She stopped, and the murmurs changed to low giggles and whispers.  She recognized that there were two voices, a female and a male.  A scowl came across her normally calm features, all of the residents and servants knew that this was her time in the library.  If they wanted to use the library for romantic rendezvous fine, they could come in any time **except** for this time.  _

_Not wanting to embarrass anyone, Ami decided to try and leave as quickly and as quietly as possible, only that didn't happen.  She had made it as far as 200 meters before finding the couple that dared to disturb her alone time.  They were oblivious to her because now, the male was kissing the girl senseless while his right hand was slowly traveling up her thigh.  Ami at that point had **no idea** what to do.  If she made her presence known, it would only make things very uncomfortable and awkward.  On the other hand, they were the ones ruining her time in the library; still she was too kind hearted to put the girl through that type of humiliation.  Therefore, she decided to turn around and make her way to the entrance via another route.  However, for some reason, fate decided that it was not her plan was not meant to be, as the woman being kissed decided to open her eyes.  Realizing that she and her paramour were not alone, and who was in the library, she started to push him away._

_"What's wrong?"  He asked surprised by the sudden change.  He turned around and followed the path of her gaze to where Ami was standing, facing the other way.  "Oh, well, you know what they say, 'the more the merrier.'"  He stated in a condescending teasing tone._

_Ami raised her eyebrows at the expression, not missing the insinuation, and felt herself going red.  "Hermes, give me strength."  She muttered before turning around to face the two lovers.  She found herself in front of Lady Leanna from Jupiter and Lord Zoicite from Earth, one of Endymion's generals.  She groaned mentally because of all of the Earth's generals; Zoicite was the one she avoided like a plague.  Most people believed it was due to his reputation as a ladies man, but in truth that didn't bother her. Ever since she turned 14 she had spent the last year around lecherous old men, and young egotistical bastards who tried to feel her up during the royal balls, all trying to win her hand in marriage for the title she brought.  Ami was aware of importance of alliances and the price one pays to put up for it; she wasn't as naïve as people believed.  Besides she got along fine with the other three generals, and two of them had reputations almost as bad as Zoicite, no, the real reason, was Zoicite had the ability to make her feel off balance.  She didn't how, but something about his presence made her uncomfortable, and it took a lot to make her feel that way.  Mentally she gave herself a small grin; she was Princess Ami Maia of Mercury, the court didn't call her "Ice Queen" for nothing.  Lifting her head higher, she steeled herself for the awkwardness that was about to begin._

_"Lady Leanna, Lord Zoicite," she acknowledged with a small curtsey.  "Lord Zoicite, I trust you found the library satisfactory for your needs."  She stated somewhat tersely.  _

_"Quite, however, I was given the impression that the library would be empty at this hour, Princess Mercury."  He told her with a smirk.  She tried not frown at the use of her title.  She hated being called by her official title because it made her sound snobbish.  Well, two can play at that game._

_"I'm sorry to inform you Lord Epidote of __Eurasia__," she felt satisfied to see him wince at his title, "But most everyone familiar with the palace knows that the Princesses use this hour for their amusement. Lady Lita goes to the kitchen to back and cook, Lady Rei goes and meditates at the great shrine, Lady Mina goes the stage to sing and Princess Serenity goes to the gardens."  She informed him._

_"Oh, come on Ami, don't be such a spoil sport.  So I forgot you go to the library, it's a honest mistake.  It's not like you don't come here during public hours everyday," Leanna slurred out; she looked a little flushed, but not from embarrassment. _

_Raising an eyebrow at her demeanor, Ami felt her face going back to the icy calm it usually held, "Of course Lady Leanna, I found what I was looking for anyway.  I don't see any reason to disturb you or your guest.  Good night."  And she walked past the couple to the doors and back towards the safe confines of her room._

_The next morning, she woke before dawn, and decided to go to the pool for a quick swim before breakfast.  She liked swimming at the morning before the day started.  It reminded her of home, and it helped with the homesickness she felt every so often.  After she changed into azure swimsuit and grabbing a towel, she made her way towards the pool via a secret passageway from her room.  As she got closer, she could hear the gentle flow of water coming down from the small waterfall running into the large pool of the __Moon__Palace__.  She also heard voices, but that didn't bother her, the pool was open to everyone at the palace at all hours except on holidays.  It wasn't unusual for her to run into someone when she swam, whenever Michiru came to visit from her post at __Neptune__ the two would race.  She missed Michiru, Haruka, and Setsuna.  However, since they were older, their training on the moon ended and they had returned to their lonely posts on their planets about 2 years back.  Emerging from the passageway, she could make out two forms at the far end of the pool.  She started to move forward, but froze when she heard a very feminine groan coming from one of the forms.  Very rapidly, she realized that the groan wasn't a groan of pain but of intense pleasure.  Ami immediately felt all of her blood rushing to her cheeks and turned back towards the passageway and ran back to her room, not realizing she dropped her towel as she ran back to her room._

_When the adrenaline dissipated from her system, she started to laugh at the situation.  How on the moon did she manage to walk into two romantic interludes in two days?  It was the type of gossip that Minako would be interested in, not her.  She giggled at the thought and went to her wardrobe to find something more suitable for breakfast.  Since she couldn't take a swim in the morning Ami thought a relaxing warm bath would be nice.  She picked up the latest medical journal from Mercury and walked to her large pale blue bathroom.  All of the princesses had extraordinarily luxurious suites, and that included their bathrooms.  After drawing enough warm water and pouring enough bubble bath, Ami slowly entered and relaxed into the tub and began to read her journal.  _

_She enjoyed about 10 minutes of her nice soothing bath, and could feel her muscles relax to the point where she was about to take a nap when she heard something shatter from her bedroom. Intruders!  She immediately tensed up, and groped for her robe and her Mercury broach.  Quickly getting into her robe, she started it inch towards the door separating her bedroom and her bathroom.  Her heart in her throat, was it an attack by new enemies?  Did they know she was in the bathroom, and what were they doing here?  When she got close enough to crack open her door, she could hear two people giggling in her room.  It didn't take very long to figure out who the voices belong too, or what they were doing in her room.  She felt herself becoming indignant at the audacity of the two coming into her private rooms.  She boldly opened her door as loudly as possible to let her presence be known between the two errant lovers in **her **bed.  She was rewarded by a very guilty squeak by Lady Vina of Venus, who was married, and a very shocked stare by Lord Zoicite, judging by their state of dress, Ami figured they probably were the two she heard in the pool.  She felt a small smug smirk forming on her face, after all Mercury was the god of mischief, was he not?_

_"Prin-Princess-Ami!__  I, we, we didn't know you were here-"  Vina started._

_"I can't imagine why that would be considering that **you two** are currently in my private bedroom."  Ami told her coldly, watching the color drain from her face at the implications. "What I don't understand is 1)  How in Selene's name, you two managed to get in here without encountering my guards, and 2) How could you miss the obvious signs that this is **my bedroom** since the symbol of Mercury is over my headboard, and all of the rooms are a different shade of blue."_

_Zoicite__ answered for the pair this time.  "I'm sorry for the intrusion Princess Mercury, but you see, we were enjoying a nice swim at the pool, and afterwards we decided to go explore the palace and we found this towel at the entrance of a passageway."  He tossed Ami the blue towel she dropped.  When she caught it, she remembered that in her haste she forgot to lock the doors leading the passageway to her room, allowing the two into her bedroom._

_"You found the passage open and the doors unlocked leading them to my rooms."  She finished for them. Their expressions of guilt answered for them.  Sighing, she placed a hand on her forehead, "Please, just get out of my room, you can leave the same way you came, just don't ever use the passageway again."  Ami watched as Vina nodded and left as quickly as she could, Zoicite lingered for moment before walking slowly towards the exit._

_"I'm sorry about the vase, Lady Mercury."  For the first time Ami remembered the sound which alerted her in the first place.  She looked at her desk and saw the crystal vase her mother had given her shattered all over the floor along with the bouquet of blue roses from her latest suitor. Ami felt a headache coming on.  "I hope it wasn't too valuable."  He stated softly._

_"It only had sentimental value Lord Epidote.  It was the last thing my mother gave me before she died."  She coldly revealed before a grabbing dustpan and broom from her closet to sweep the mess up.  She saw him grimace at her words, but she really didn't care about hurting him, since he was the idiot who invaded her private room in the first place.  It surprised Ami, when he went over to her and took the broom from her hands and swept up the shards.  She just watched, as he carefully poured the shards over her desk and waved his hand over them, and they reformed to her old vase.  He stepped back from the desk and gave her a small bow before leaving._

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_Jadeling's__ Notes:  Okay, so what do you think so far?  Keep it or scrap it?  Review if you want me to finish._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer:  I don't own Sailor Moon, just some cd's, manga, stationary, stickers, and cards. _

_Author's__ Notes:  Okay, the overwhelming verdict is that I keep writing.  Everybody had such nice reviews; I hope I can live up to the expectations.  Okay, just so there isn't any confusion later, whenever I refer to Princess Serenity, it'll be either Princess Serenity or Serenity.  Whenever I refer to Queen Serenity, her mother, it will **always** be Queen Serenity.  Luna and Artemis are in their human forms.  The adults call Ami by her middle name, Maia, incase you're wondering why I chose that name, Maia was the mother of Hermes/Mercury.  _

_Cheeky-Beer007: Hey, you got the first review!  Thanks for the encouragement!_

_Brooke: Glad you liked it._

_Doesn'treallymatter__:  Don't worry, this isn't one of those "he pursues her after she first snubs him" fics.  They'll go through a couple of things before falling in love._

_Amnicity__:  Like I told Brooke, I'm happy you enjoyed the first chapter._

_TriGemini__:  Hope you like this chappie as well._

_Tigerreally__:  Thanks for the nice review._

_Aspara__: Heh, I was kind of tired of reading Ami as a studious mouse.  Just because she was kind of one in the present didn't mean she was one in the past._

_Arabella__ Silverbell: I take it you liked my first chapter.  Thanks for the compliments._

_Mercury Ice Storm:  I'll try not to make the characters too OOC.  Thanks for the nice words as well._

_MJ:  Here's a new chappie!  Hope you like!_

_I thought I'd update kind of early because of the Valentine's Weekend.  Enjoy!_

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She had forgotten how many laps she had swam in the pool at this point, but she didn't care.  She could still recollect the shock she felt as she watched Zoicite rebuild her crystal vase.  It was small acts of kindness like that, which confused her in the first place.  When they first met, he made it clear that he thought she was an innocent, pampered princess not worth his efforts to flirt or seduce like the other noblewomen her age, nor did he tease her like an older brother as he did with Hotaru.  No, whenever they were together with the other generals and senshi, he ignored her and she just ignored him as well.  Yet, every so often, he would do something kind for her like the vase, which would confuse her.  Before the vase, she remembered at a ball two days after they had arrived, some lord from Titan, who wouldn't take her refusal for a dance seriously, was bothering her.  He had grabbed her arm; Ami noticed the other girls were dancing and didn't see her predicament.  She wasn't sure what to do when Zoicite came up and managed to scare the silly lord off.  However, before Ami could thank him, he gave her a faint smirk and sought the hand of another woman to dance with.  Was it any surprise she didn't know what to when she was around him?

Ami made another flip and felt her mind focusing onto another memory.  It was a week after the encounter in her bedroom.  The generals and the senshi decided to participate in a training simulation together.  She couldn't remember how the argument got started, probably Rei insulted Jadeite's pride or vice versa, but it ended up that everyone started to argue except for Serenity, Endymion, and herself.  Ami recalled being so annoyed by the immaturity of those involved that she began to use her ability over water, to freeze the room.  As the others stood there quietly, shivering in their clothes, Ami made it very clear what type of program and at what difficulty level they would be following since they decided on the specifications the night before.  Anyone with any problems with it would have to endure with her making the room colder.  Of course, that shut everybody up as she entered the codes to the computer system, before their competition could begin.  The term brought up another more detailed memory, about two days after the incident in the simulation room.

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_Competition between the two groups was common.  Especially when one felt that his/her skill was being challenged.  Out of the inner senshi, Makoto and Rei were the most confrontational, so it wasn't a surprise when both Jadeite and Nephlite challenged the two to a sporting contest between all of the senshi and generals, Makoto and Rei accepted before talking to Ami or Minako.  Neither of them were very happy when they found out about it.  Horseback racing was the first sporting contest; Ami wasn't racing so she decided to go to her room instead to avoid the inevitable bad blood that would come after the race.  She found herself looking at her vase; ever since Zoicite had fixed it, she had been unable to thank him properly.  If she thanked him in public, it would bring up some unpleasant questions, and she could never find an opportunity to tell him in private.  A communications call from Minako interrupted her musings._

_"Ami, where are you?"  Her worried voice made Ami frown.  Minako rarely worried over things._

_"In my room, what's wrong Mina?"_

_"You need to get to the infirmary.  Zoicite was badly thrown from his horse."  _

_The palace infirmary was very close to her quarters since traditionally the royal physician was the senshi of Mercury.  Entering the infirmary, she saw a glow of light coming into the center of the room.  When the light faded, it revealed Endymion along with the other genrals; Kunzite was carrying Zoicite.  Getting her computer, she began to check over her patient.  "What happened?"_

_"Rei and Zoicite were racing when something startled Rei's horse.  Her horse reared back and let out a high-pitched neigh.  The noise scared the horse Zoicite was riding and he was thrown; I think he might have hit his head when he fell off. They were racing uphill, so he rolled down the hill a couple of meters before we were able to reach him."  Kunzite stated as he deposited Zoicite on to an operating table.  "Is he going to be all right?"_

_"I'm not sure Kunzite.  It looks like he has a serious concussion, a three broken ribs, two cracked, a broken leg, and I'm not sure how much internal bleeding there is."  She told him as she used her visor to complete her analysis of his injuries.  She swore as she saw one of the broken ribs had punctured his left lung, doing a more in depth check she saw that Zoicite's injury included a great deal of internal bleeding._

_"What's wrong?"  Jadeite asked her._

_"He's loosing a lot of blood, too much."  She responded quickly._

_"Can't you give him a transfusion and operate on him?" a worried Nephrite inquired._

_Ami hurriedly shook her head as she used her computer to analyze other possible solutions.  "The rate he's loosing blood is too fast, and my computer is having trouble finding the source.  Even with a transfusion, I can't operate fast enough to stop the bleeding, plus if I try to operate too quickly I may end up nicking another artery making things worse."  She told them, unaware of the entrance of Queen Serenity._

_"Then I'll use the Silver __Crystal__; I refuse to allow one of my guests die when we have the means to save him."  Her quiet voice stated.  She startled the generals, but Prince Endymion raised his hand in protest.  _

_"You can't use it; you do, and you can die, your majesty.  The Silver __Crystal__ is already being used to help with the Moon's planetary defenses, try to heal him, and the effort will be too much for your life force."_

_"Besides, it's not necessary for such an extreme action," a quiet but very determined Ami stated.  The others turned to her as her visor disappeared at her command and a soft blue glow began to form around her left hand._

_Queen Serenity gasped as she realized what the glow signified.  "Maia, you can't use your crystal, you're not powerful enough to sustain it for the amount of time needed to heal his injuries."_

_"I don't need to heal him completely. I just need to stop his bleeding.  I've already done the analysis; the risk to me is minimum the risk to you, or any of the others is too high, and we don't have time to wait for the others to combine powers."  She told them as they started to protest with her decision.  "As the heir of Mercury, how I chose to use the Sapphire __Crystal_(1)_ is up to me."  She stated in her icy regal tone, a tone that wasn't to be questioned, only obeyed.  Ami extended her left hand, and placed it over Zoicite's chest as a pale blue glow engulfed his body.  She held her hand over him for a couple of minutes before falling from her efforts; Jadeite had enough presence of mind to catch her._

_"That was very reckless, Maia," the queen quietly chided, as the generals made way for her to sit down in a chair._

_"No, it wasn't, as I stated earlier; all I needed to do was stop the internal bleeding, and heal the internal wounds.  His bones are still broken and cracked, but he'll live, and so will I.  I did what was needed to save my patient, no more, no less."  She stated as she tried to rise from her chair.  The queen stopped her before she had a chance._

_"If what you say is true, I'm sure Lord Nephrite can tend to the rest of Lord Zoicite's wounds; you need to rest and regain your strength, my dear.  You may out rank me in matters concerning my health _(2)_, but you cannot deny a queen's request concerning yours.  I'll let Luna know that you and Lord Zoicite will be eating dinner here tonight."  The queen looked down upon her young charge, and Ami knew it was useless to argue with her so she nodded.  The queen smiled and placed her right hand on Ami's cheek, "You were always such a kind child; I'm glad your kindness hasn't changed as you grew up.  I'll send someone down with a chess set and some of your favorite books until your charge is out of the infirmary, but right now I want you to rest in one of these beds, so if one of the Lords doesn't mind."  She turned, stepped back and looked at the prince and generals.  Immediately, Endymion stepped forward and lifted the protesting Ami to the nearest bed.  He told her it was the least he could do for one of Princess Serenity's friends and the one responsible for saving his own friend's life, while Kunzite and Jadeite helped carry Zoicite to another bed.  Satisfied with everything, Queen Serenity bowed over Ami, and have the teenager a soft kiss on her forehead as Ami drifted into sleep._

_It was early evening when Ami woke from her sleep. "Well, it's about time Sleeping Beauty," a roguish voice told her.  _

_"Lay off it Zoi, she saved your life you know."_

_Turning she saw the speaker to be Zoicite, sitting in a chair next to her bed along with Jadeite standing behind him.  She frowned at him before rising._

_"You shouldn't be out of bed, Lord Epidote.  You still have three broken ribs and two cracked ones, besides a broken leg."_

_"I tried telling him that, but you got to understand, Zoi's probably one of the most stubborn people I know."  Jadeite told her with a grin.  He continued to explain, "You see, he woke up about an hour after you used the crystal and wanted to know what happened.  You should have seen his face when we told him you did.  I think that's the first time I actually seen him scared."  He gave a somewhat stunned Ami a wink._

_"Shut up, Jed."  Zoicite growled. _

_Completely unfazed by Zoicite, Jadeite only continued his narration.  "Anyway, we tried telling him, that you were all right just really tired, but he wouldn't listen to us, his friends.  He insisted on getting up and sitting by you until you got up.  Endymion looked ready to order him to bed rest except he promised that he wouldn't do anything stupid.  Not as if Endymion believed him, so he ordered me to make sure Zoi here really didn't do something stupid.  Oh, and the other princesses came by about a half hour ago, but had leave because of the visiting dignitaries-" he stopped when he heard Ami groan._

_"Mina's parents, the King and Queen of Venus were coming today.  I was supposed to be there when they came, Jadeite."  She explained._

_Jadeite gave her a small smile, "I'm sure they'll understand why you couldn't make it.  Speaking of which, I promised them that I'd let them know when you were awake.  I'll go make the call over."_

_Within in two minutes, the inner princesses, two generals, and Endymion crowded Ami's bed.  All wanted to make sure she was all right and Endymion along with his generals thanked her for saving their friend.  Serenity started to cry as she berated Ami for using her crystal.  Ami quickly hugged her friend and reminded Serenity that she was fine, and that if Serenity was in Ami's situation she would do the same.  Rei revealed that after the generals left the infirmary, Nephlite and Minako agreed to run through the obstacle course.  Minako won, but the generals all stated that they were under a state of distress over Zoicite's and Ami's condition, so Nephlite didn't do as well as he normally did.  _

_Meanwhile, the generals all started to tease Zoicite for falling off his horse in the first place.  Zoicite tried to defend himself, but by the looks the girls were giving themselves, he wasn't doing very well against the other four men.  The teasing went on for a couple of more minutes before Luna came in to remind those present that dinner with the Monarchs of Venus would be in an hour and that since their attendance was required, they should probably use the time to prepare themselves.  Ami tried to get out of her bed, when Luna turned and gave her a very hard stare, "The queen made it clear that you are excused from dinner as your duties require you to remain with your patient, Ami.  Plus, you are supposed to get plenty of rest."  When Ami opened her mouth to protest, Luna gave her a harsher look, making Ami squeak out an agreement.  "I'll have Merna serve your dinners here, and Lord Zoicite why aren't you in bed?"  Ami giggled as the Earth general attempted to explain why he was disobeying a direct order to a very stern Luna while he made his way back to his bed._

_After everyone had left, Ami became aware of the awkward silence that had engulfed the infirmary.  Luckily, Zoicite ended the silence when he thanked her for saving his life.  She gave him a genuine smile, before she got out of the bed, walked towards her desk, and started to assemble her chessboard. "I'm a doctor; I only did what I needed to in order to save my patient."  He was about to open his mouth to say something, but she cut him off before he got the chance, "While we're on the subject of 'thanks' I've been meaning to thank you too, for fixing my vase."_

_Zoicite__ shrugged, "Well, it only seemed fair, I was the one who broke it, and we really didn't have any business in your bedroom.  By the way, I'm sure Lady Vina appreciates your discretion on the matter."_

_This time Ami gave him a shrug and a wry smile, "Lord Zoicite, I assure you that I can be very discrete.  I know I appear to be quite innocent, but you are hardly the first person I've run into in the library or in the pool during a, how should I put this, a romantic interlude?"  She chuckled at his astonished face.  "You'd be surprised how many servants forget about my time in the library.  Not that I can blame them, during the evening hours, the library is usually empty; it's quiet and isolated from the rest of the palace.  The pool is also another popular choice for a rendezvous although a bit riskier since it is open to everyone day or night unlike the library, but it's also fairly isolated from the rest of the palace, and most people really aren't awake before dawn."  Ami watched as it took Zoicite a moment to absorb the information she had just given him.  She giggled in amusement as she observed him open his mouth to speak only to close it to rethink his words.  Her laughter seemed to pull him out of his slight daze as he glared at her.  Ami decided to change the topic, but as she grappled to find a subject; she found words flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Why don't you like me Lord Zoicite?" she inquired softly._

_If he expected a question from her, it wasn't that one considering his stunned expression. "Why do you think that?"_

_She gazed at her hands and moved her head to left side before answering, "I don't know.   I mean you seem to go out of your way to annoy me, and while I'm sure most of the time it's accidental like the time at the library, there are other times, which I think you do it to get a rise out of me.  Then there's the fact you don't treat me the same way as you do with the other princesses.  You flirt with everyone else, but you ignore me and I know you're intelligent enough to disbelieve court gossip about me avoiding you because of your reputation.  Yet, there are times when you act kind towards me like getting that lord from Titan to leave me alone a while back and fixing the vase.  You confuse me Lord Zoicite, and I can't help but feel like you don't like me very much, perhaps it is part of the reason why I don't feel comfortable around you." She murmured before lifting her eyes to his._

_His eyes widened at her honesty and after staring at her for a minute turned away breaking the tension in the room.  "I don't dislike you Lady Ami, however, I must admit; you are as much of a conundrum to me as I am to you."  He explained seriously, " You are a paradox to me, you appear to be too innocent and fragile to handle the intrigues of palace life, but you seem to be more aware of the designs of unscrupulous beings than people give you credit for, and yet you still retain some of that naïve nature.  You follow protocol to the letter, yet you only stay at formal functions for as long as necessary.  You are right in believing that I don't listen to court gossip, because I know it's not because you're a snob, in fact I'd say you're too nice for your own good.  I also know it's not because you're shy, because I've seen you at court dinners.  You can converse with anyone about anything for long or short periods of time regardless of the person's intelligence.  I don't understand you, and to be honest, I tend to get uncomfortable around those I don't understand.  I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I disliked you."_

_She smiled at his honesty, "Well, we have about another 45 minutes before we get anything to eat, and I heard from Jadeite, that you're very good at chess.  Would you mind terribly playing a game against me?"_

_He looked back at her, "I know of your reputation, and I don't want you to go easy on me."  Ami had a well-earned reputation in the palace of being an exceptionally good player, but was a little too kind towards new opponents._

_She smirked, "Wouldn't dream of it."_

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Footnotes:

(1)  The queen of each planet owns her own planetary crystal, the exception being Earth.  However, since Ami's mother is dead, she inherited the crystal along with its power, which like the Silver Crystal of the moon is tied to her life force.

(2)  Since Ami is the royal physician if she can overrule the Queen if she feels the Queen's action will endanger her health or if she feels the Queen is unable to fulfill her duty because of her state of health i.e. The Queen is mentally or physically unfit.

_Jadeling's__ Notes:  Yea!__  They actually talked to each other!  Hee hee. ___


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer:  I don't own Sailor Moon, really, I don't._

_Author's__ Notes:  Well, I fixed the chapter mix up as soon as I could.  Hope that nobody got too confused.  I'm really sorry to Cheeky-Bear007 because I missed spelled the reviewer's name on my last chapter.  *Bows down in submission and asks for forgiveness.*_

_KazN__:  Okay, here's more.  I love Ami, she's my favorite character, so it's been a lot of fun for me to write about her._

_TriGemini__:  They do seem to get along don't they?  Zoicite was scared because Ami used her crystal to save him.  Like Queen Serenity's Silver __Crystal__, if Ami's not careful she could die while using it.  Since the Sapphire Crystal isn't as strong as the Silver Crystal, it'll take up more of Ami's energy to save one person than if Queen Serenity wanted to use it.  However, as I stated in the last chapter, the Silver Crystal is being used to also supplement the Moon's defenses so the queen may die if she used it to help Zoicite, hence the reason why Ami wouldn't allow her to use it._

_Arabella__ Silverbell:  I try, key word there, try to post as quickly as possible.  However, there are times when I'm just left looking at a blank screen for a couple of hours because my muse __Phoenix__ decided to take a trip somewhere without telling me.  Thanks for the compliment though; it's nice knowing that I'm loved._

_Ellen:  Just because Ami's element is water and ice doesn't mean she has to be cold all the time, right?  I wanted try something a bit different; I'm glad that others seem to like it as well._

_Brooke: I'm continuing!  See, here's more for you too!_

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That was how their friendship really started, with a game of chess.  When their dinners arrived, they still hadn't finished playing, so they continued the game as they ate.  It was much later before they decided to call a stalemate.  However, it was too late at night for Ami to return to her quarters, so she stayed by his side monitoring his condition incase of any changes.  Like the senshi, the generals had a healing factor, which allowed their injuries to heal at a faster rate than normal.  He was out of the infirmary after two days, and walking without a crutch in a week.  During that time, they had become very good adversaries in chess.  Every morning she would receive a note from him with only one message on it, a chess move.  In turn, she would send him a missive every afternoon with her counter. 

Ami rolled over in the water mid-length to change back to freestyle.  Even though most of their matches ended in a stalemate, they both continued to play though in the hopes that they could get a win out of the other.  Even after the delegation had to return to Earth after a month, the two still exchanged messages at the same time revealing their moves.  She couldn't recall when or why, but after about two months of exchanging chess moves, one of them started to add a little more their messages.  It was always something small at first like "Hope you have a nice day," or "Try not to drink too much at tonight's ball," simple things.  About another month and they both started to exchange more personal information such as:  "Today, I'm suppose to escort the Lady Neevia around the palace.  She's probably one of the most annoying people I've met.  Did I mention she's married, but insists on flirting with not only me, but all of the other generals including the prince as well?  It's ladies like her which make me miss your quiet intelligence." In addition, "Artemis has instructed me to help Serenity and Minako learn more about Jovian history.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to get them to listen to me when I lecture, let alone get them to learn, when all they want to do is, go out and have fun?  It's moments like this which make me wish you were here because at least you would be interested in the subject."  Eventually it turned to be more lengthy messages, and both ended up revealing more to the other than they thought possible.  Zoicite discovered the reason she never stayed long at formal parties was because she wanted to avoid unwanted advances from lecherous men.  She found out his excessive flirting and partying were a products of being extremely bored at said events.

When the queen announced that Prince Endymion and his generals would be visiting again after a year had past, she was glad at the prospect of seeing him again.  Ami did another flip at the wall, and while she glided under the water, she remembered how wide her smile was when the delegation from Earth was announced at the court.  After the formalities of a royal visit were over, Ami led Zoicite to the library revealing their unfinished chess game.  He had teased her about it too, saying that it was the first time a lady had pulled him away for some privacy to complete a chess game.  They continued to play while talking about the different events that occurred during their separation.  Ami fought the urge to smile, as she started to move her arms in the water.  Chess, even in this life, she couldn't deny her love for the game.

As was tradition, there was a ball to be held that night in honor of the prince and his party.  It was when Ami noticed the crowd of women surrounding Zoicite that she first experienced envy.  Her reaction surprised her, she only thought of Zoicite as a friend.  She had no reason to be jealous of these women, she was only interested in Zoicite as a friend; she didn't want him as a lover.  So she was closer to him than she was with the other generals; it didn't mean she liked him in that way, right?  She could still remember watching him accept a dance with a duchess and telling herself that she didn't care.  She told herself she only was worried about him because he was her friend and she didn't want him to get in trouble.  Looking back now, she told herself, she was jealous because she did love him, she just couldn't admit yet.  

_Loved as past tense.__  I don't love him anymore._  Ami told herself as she reached the end of the pool and made another flip at the pool.  Love, such a confusing emotion, there were so many different varieties of love.  There was the love between friends, fraternal love, the unconditional love between a parent and a child.  That thought reminded her of something but her mind told her she wasn't ready to deal with those thoughts yet.  She needed to remember a few more things before she could confront those demons.  Getting back to the subject of love, there were different types of love, but the most complicated by far is romantic love.  Romantic love also had so many incarnations.  Puppy love, passionate lustful love, obsessive love, unrequited love, and so on and so forth, also no one was immune to it.  

Even Lady Venus herself succumbed to the arrows of her own goddess as well.  She reached the other end and stood up for a minute to take a break.  She grinned remembering the time Zoicite and she decided to go to the war room to analyze some old battle data only to run into Minako and Kunzite kissing.  Both of them could hardly contain their laughter when they quickly left the two extremely embarrassed lovers.  Later that night, Minako cornered Ami and made her promise not to tell anyone about the relationship.  After seeing Zoicite the next morning, Ami was pretty sure that Kunzite demanded Zoicite make a similar promise, based on the smug smile he had on his face.  There were also the veiled comments Zoicite insisted on making for the next week, until Kunzite beaten him up badly during a sparring session.  Afterwards Zoicitie didn't make so many comments, but he still kept the smug smile whenever he encountered his commanding officer.

Falling in love wasn't really something she thought of when she lived on the moon.  As the heir to the throne of Mercury, Ami was raised believing that she needed to marry for the sake of her planet.  She expected to at the very least respect her husband, and perhaps if she were lucky, love would come later.  However, she had her duty and responsibility to Serenity and to her own planet; she didn't have the luxury to fall in love with anyone.  Ami decided she rested up enough, and went back into the water.  Swimming the backstroke, she focused on the memories when she forced herself to not to care too much about Zoicite.  It started when Ami needed to go back to Mercury, she was turning 17 and as was tradition, a planetary celebration was planned for the Princess.  Of course, royal protocol needed to be observed as well, so each planet was required to send a representative for the celebration.  Each of the planetary princesses and their parties were coming to Mercury to celebrate with Ami on this happy occasion.

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_"Maia, stop pacing, your friends will come soon enough."  Her father chided her as she kept pacing around the throne on Mercury.  "I've never seen you so excited."  He told her happily._

_"I'm sorry father, but I can't wait for them to come."  She told him giving a brilliant smile.  _

_He took her small hands into his withered ones and gave her a lovingly smile.  "You look so much like your mother; she would have been so proud of you Maia.  I wish she could have lived to see you all grown up."  Ami felt her own eyes water at the admission.  She looked at her father's eyes and saw the pride shining through them along with some sadness. "Look at you!  When did my little girl grow up to be so beautiful?  Living on the Moon has been good to you, but how I regret not being able to visit more often like the other monarchs."_

_She stopped his monologue before he could continue by placing a small hand on his lips. "You had to look over Mercury after Mother's death.  You've done so much Father."  Ami gave her father a small smile, "Besides I'm still your little girl who wishes for her father to take her for a walk on the beach every sunset.  I'll never grow up; I promised, remember?"_

_He grinned at the old promise she made to him when she was six.  Before either could continue the conversation, the herald announced the arrival of the Earth delegation.  Expecting Prince Endymion and his generals, Ami quickly sat back down on her throne and fixed the crown on her head, only for it to fall askew on her head when she jumped out of her chair in astonishment.  Endymion and his generals were not the only ones who presented themselves before the King and Princess of Mercury; Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru(3) had decided to come a couple of days early and had accompanied the Earth delegation.  For once in her life, Ami forgot about protocol as she ran to embrace her friends, as they teased her about her total lack of royal decorum.  She only laughed and reminded her friends that while she was violating decorum she could recite **all** of the times each had violated protocol as well, and she didn't have a problem revealing them right then and there.    _

_ "Oy, Birthday Girl, did you miss us?"  Haruka teased._

_"Haruka, mind your manners."  Setsuna told the princess as she gave Ami a hug, "Ami, I heard you've become quite the chess player, would you mind playing a game or two against me?"_

_"I'd love too."  Ami replied gleefully._

_"Don't forget about me," Michiru said with a smile, "I expect a race between the two of us, and don't think I'll go easy on you just because it's your birthday."_

_"Of course not, Michi."___

_She turned to thank Endymion for being thoughtful enough in allowing the princesses to accompanying his party.  Endymion, Jadeite, Nephlite all grinned at her thanks, even Kunzite looked a little smug, while Zoicite appeared a bit uncomfortable.  Endymion gave Zoicite a small sideways glance before smiling back at the confused Ami.  "Actually, Princess, I can't take credit for the idea.  I must admit, it was all Zoicite's plan; he thought you would enjoy seeing your friends earlier instead of later."_

_She felt flustered as she turned to Zoicite to thank him, with all eyes on both of them.  All of a sudden, Ami couldn't bring herself to look at him in the face, and was very sure that if she did, she would reveal a very red face to everyone.  Stealing a small glance at him, she noticed he seemed as ill at ease, which didn't help her nerves at all.  Biting her lip, she took a small breath before gathering her courage, lifted her head, and gave him a huge smile.  "Thank you Lord Zoicite, it was a lovely surprise.  I don't know how I can ever show how thankful I really am"_

_Being taller, he gazed down at the petite princess and gave her a very soft smile, "It was nothing, Princess, just a couple of well placed communication calls and the other princesses were happy to come early."  Then he went back to his teasing façade, "Although, letting me win a couple chess games would be nice."_

_They were interrupted by a small cough coming from her father, the king.  Blushing, Ami immediately went back to her duties as princess and properly introduced the group to her father, and then escorted the guests to their quarters in the palace.  She showed Endymion and the generals their rooms first and then escorted the outer senshi the other side of the Mercury palace. _

_"I'm afraid your rooms aren't as extravagant as your rooms on the Moon, but I do trust they are up to your needs."  She told them as she led through past the guards._

_"I'm sure they're fine Ami," Haruka started, "Okay, now that we're past any prying eyes and ears, explain yourself."_

_"Excuse me?"  Ami stated somewhat stunned._

_Michiru__ gave a sly smile, "We have eyes Ami; we saw what happened between you and Lord Zoicite."  _

_The threesome watched in amusement as Ami attempted to deny their speculations.  Haruka cut her off before she got too far.  "Look, we three are stationed so far out on our planets that we hear the grossly outdated and inaccurate court gossip for our only amusement.  Now that we're here, we intend to catch up.  You're usually the most observant if not the most objective, so we figured you wouldn't have any problems confirming our information.  On the other hand, if you don't want to I'm sure we can wait a couple of days for either Serenity or Mina since they love gossip."  She finished smugly._

_Ami's eyes went wide, "You wouldn't!"  Minako and Serenity not only loved gossip, but also often added their own embellishments to "spice" things up._

_"Try us."_

_"All right, all right, come on, we can talk in my room."  _

_They walked off down the hall until reaching Ami's chambers in the palace.  In the palace, Ami's chambers were larger and more extravagant than her rooms on the moon, but they still were colored in different shades of blue.  All four girls sat upon Ami's sprawling bed, drinking tea, as Ami confirmed their suspicions about certain rumors.  For example, "If you don't believe me watch Serenity's face when Endymion enters the room."  And "No, Lady Kaisa's affair with him ended weeks ago, she's already has her sights on someone else."  When Michiru brought up the subject of the Zoicite, Ami firmly denied a relationship. "There's nothing between us."_

_"Oh, but we've heard rumors that the two of you exchange missives everyday."  She drawled._

_"We only exchanged counters for chess.  We exchange messages on the differences of court life on the Moon and Earth, defense strategies, nothing of a romantic nature.  Besides, it's not possible for him to be attracted to me."  Ami retorted._

_"Oh, and why do you think that Ami?"  Setsuna asked quietly as she poured herself another cup of tea._

_"I'm sure even out in Pluto you've heard of Lord Zoicite's reputation."  Ami sighed, "You should see the women he's with at the balls.  They're all tall, and bubbly, and gorgeous and, and-" Ami couldn't help but let a hint of bitterness seep into her words, "and everything that I'm not."  She finished forlornly.  Michiru raised an eyebrow at Ami's admission, while Haruka narrowed hers._

_"Ami," Haruka's voice was low and deceptively calm, "you didn't-" she paused unsure of how to proceed, "he hasn't hurt in you in anyway, has he?" she blurted out._

_Ami just blinked completely surprised by Haruka's suggestion as the other girls stood frozen, unsure of how to break their current state.  Finally, Ami came to her senses, "NO!  He's been nothing but a perfect gentleman," she firmly told them conveniently forgetting the times she caught Zoicite in a less than proper situation.  "He's never rejected me, or taken any liberties with me."_

_"Not that you would mind if he just would take some small liberties with you, would you Ami?"  Michiru gave her a small wink.  "Don't bother to deny it Ami, so there's nothing going on, doesn't mean you don't wish otherwise."  Ami's face became a faint pink and her friends knew that Michiru had hit some truth.  Michiru continued, "I know it's not my place, but I think it's possible that Lord Zoicite shares some of the same feelings, I mean you should have seen him before we entered the palace.  He was worried that someone would spoil the surprise; I've never seen a grown man so nervous before."  A giggle bubbled out of her mouth from the memory._

_Ami smiled sadly at her friend's mirth. "I admit, I find Zoicite a bit attractive, Michi.  However, I cannot indulge in the idea of developing feelings for him, even if he returns them, a relationship between us wouldn't work." She said firmly._

_"Why are you fighting this Ami?"  Haruka asked; her curiosity aroused by her friend's solid refusal._

_When Ami looked away from her friend's inquiring gaze, Setsuna spoke up, "So the whispers about your father's health are true?"  Unable to speak, Ami only nodded. "I see.  I'm sorry Ami." _

_Haruka__ and Michiru gave the two very confused looks before Ami turned back to them and proceeded to give them an explanation.  "The counsel has informed me that my father's sickness is not abating as we had hoped.  They're not sure he'll survive to see my next birthday, which is why this year is so extravagant."  The expressions on the girls' faces went from stunned to sympathetic to curious again, "I have been informed numerous times that an announcement of marriage would help alleviate the worries of my people, especially before I'm crowned queen."_

_Setsuna__ continued before Haruka could ask why the counsel would insist on Ami to marry, "Mercury is a planet of intellectuals, not warriors like Mars, Jupiter, or even Uranus.  However, what they lack in warrior strength the more than make up for in technology and knowledge.  If Ami were to ascend to the throne alone, certain unscrupulous beings may believe the planet vulnerable.  If she married a prince or lord with a vast army, the alliance would serve as a show of stability as well as one of force against these would be conquerors."_

_"But Lord Zoicite is a warrior; he commands ¼ of the military on Earth and-"_

_"-and is bound by the same vow to protect Endymion as Ami is bound to protect Serenity.  Both would not be on Mercury for the amount of time needed to protect and rule it properly, unless by some miracle either is released of their vow."  Setsuna finished._

_Michiru__ immediately went over to the blue-haired princess and gave her a reassuring hug, "Oh Ami, why haven't you told anyone about this?  You know the girls would support you."_

_"But in the end they cannot change anything.  When I marry, it will be for duty, so you see, I cannot allow myself to fall in love.  Promise me you won't tell the others, promise Michi, Ruka."  She pleaded._

_"I," Michiru paused, unsure of how to proceed, but reluctantly bowed her head. "I promise."  _

_"Ruka?"___

_Haruka__ looked as if she was ready to punch some of the counsel members for troubling her friend and Ami could tell that she was violently against what Ami was asking, but in the end, she nodded.  "All right, enough gloom, come on, I want to see if these generals are as tough as the gossip says.  Do you think they would care to spar against me?"  She asked trying to return to an atmosphere of mirth.  Ami laughed at her attitude and gave her friend a nod, before they went off to seek Haruka's opponents._

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Footnotes:

 (3) I've decided since Hotaru is younger than everybody, and she is on the moon for her senshi training.  I'm making it that when the girls turned 18 the outer senshi were required to go back to their posts, while the inner senshi finish their formal training and take their rightful places as the Princess Serenity's protectors until they are needed to rule their own planet.

_Jadeling's__ Notes:  Next chapter, the birthday ball, I'm curious; what do you think is going to happen?_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: If I owned, do you think I'd be writing this now?_

_Author's Note: Writer's Block is a B$#$#itch!!!! I'm sorry for the long delay, but I couldn't think of anything. So what did I do? I watch my Roswell DVD's. Not a bad idea, because now Phoenix has alot of ideas, they're just all Roswell related. I love Max and Liz during the first season, especially the episode **Blind Date** a drunk Max was great! Also I had to do a lot of moving, moving out of my place, moving my sister out of her place and back to the house, and now I have to help move my boyfriend out of his place into our new place. Joy! (Can't you hear my sarcasm?)_

_I was surprised that no one wanted to put up a guess for what is going to happen next. Shrugs. Oh, Fanfiction is being funny and won't print out the stars and tildas properly. Argh, going to have to fix **Blood Sisters** Chp2 again! So, when you see the horizantial line, think flashback._

_TriGemini: Things do get interesting for Zoicite and Ami, just not the way you may think._

_cheeky-bear007: Confession is good for the soul. Yeah, Ami did kind of get a raw deal, and I'm about to make it worse. Sorry._

_Lil' Mercurain Angel: Here's another, hope you like!_

_Arabella Silverbell: I wanted the Outer Senshi because I think they're fun, plus, I think it shows another side to them that we didn't get to see. I just remembered in the Manga that they were really lonely in the Silver Mill. and that never sat right with me. So sorry for taking so long, and if you think this is bad, consider this, I haven't updated my first story in over a couple of years. But I do admit I need to get of my butt and finish not only this fic, but **Buried Memories. **I can see all of the PoT fans coming after me, with sharp objects._

_Ellen: Thanks for the review, scroll down and read some more. _

_Faraday: Wow, so many people like my fic! I'm getting all WAFFy inside. Hee hee :)_

_Jupiter-1685_ _: Well, I hope you like this one too. Thanks for your support!_

_MoMo-ChAn1: Yea, you could, but didn't. Of course, this ficcy isn't going to exactly follow cannon. It's what I wanted SM to be, and hopefully, my vision is similar to what others see._

_:): Wow, I feel lucky that you like my fic. Well, here's more! For some reason FF won't let me load the original characters from your review. Silly FF_

_Princess Destiny Moon: Ah, details to really make a story more believable don't they? I'm glad you like them, because they take me forever to think of let alone write. _

_Kelly: I'm sorry for taking so long. Hopefully, this chapter was worth the wait._

_Catherine: Thanks for the praise, as for Ami's situation, let me just say, it changes in this chapter._

_Angelike Riddle: Oh, I'm definitely interested, but I don't think I should post anywhere else until I'm a little further along. God knows I've tortured you all for how long, and you want me to do it to a bigger audience? Anyway, I checked out the site and must say, I liked what I saw, long live Ami and Zoicite!_

_And what you've all been waiting for!!_

* * *

Ami finished another lap. Why didn't she follow her convictions? Would it really have made that much of a difference in the end? If only she had remained true to her promise not to fall in love with Zoicite, but what was the point of pondering "What if?" _What is done is done, the past cannot be changed and wishing things were different only makes the wounds more painful. _She glided swiftly through the water as pushed off the tile wall. Things between Zoicite and her were a bit strained, since Endymion and the other generals seemed to be plotting to get them together, while the other princesses did their best to prevent such situations. Of course, when the other girls arrived from the moon, the schemes seemed to increase. She understood their reasons now, she almost laughed when she remembered the sheepish looks Minako and Usagi had given her when they explained their reason is this lifetime. _"You two were taking so long, and you looked so cute, so we decided, that the two of you would look nice as a couple. But everybody wanted to help, not just Rei-chan and Makoto-chan, but Endy-kun and the other generals thought that you two were perfect together."_

She never told them why she kept trying to avoid their schemes. Yet, that was how things went for about a week, schemes to get Zoicite and her alone. For example, Serenity wanted to see the water gardens of Mercury and since the gardens were out in the open, the senshi needed to come with her. Then Endymion would express a desire to also visit the gardens, and so his generals would have to go with him. Since they were on Mercury, Ami was required to be the guide. As soon as Ami finished guiding them around; each of the inner senshi would conveniently "remember an errand," and a general would "offer to escort" her back to the palace; leaving a somewhat embarrassed Zoicite alone with an uncomfortable Ami. Or another favorite of the girls and boys included switching the seating around during functions like dinners or concerts so either the two would be sitting next to one another or they would eating across from one another. Michiru, Haruka, and Sestuna could only do so much with out attracting the attention of the other girls, but each tried their best to get Ami away from a tense situation. Like the garden situation, Michiru would "accidentally" come across them because she got "lost." Setsuna would ask if Ami wanted to switch seats because she had a better view of the stage. Yet the tension between the two friends only continued to grow until the night of her birthday, the night of the royal ball.

* * *

_Ami was looking over the room somewhat nervously. Since the ball was in her honor, no one would start dancing until she chose a partner and looking over at her friends she noticed that they were already holding hands with their partners. It would be rude of her to pick one of them, and she knew that they wanted her to choose Zoicite for the first dance. She mentally curse herself for not have the foresight of asking Endymion for the first dance the night before, when he had given her a single crystallized red rose as her gift. Ami quickly looked over to see if there was another guest, whom she could choose without arousing the suspicions of her friends, or hurting Zoicite's feelings._

_"May I have this dance, milady?" Haruka smirked at her, before Ami noticed Haruka's wardrobe. She was wearing a male's dress outfit. Haruka, a well known tomboy, had upon numerous occasions dressed as a male at several royal functions on the moon. Some habits die hard. Glancing to Michiru and Setsuna, she saw Michiru give her a wink. Ami let out a very relieved laugh before accepting. Crisis averted, for now._

_It must have been a couple of hours later after much laughing and dancing; Ami had accepted a dance with Endymion, when Serenity and Zoicite came by. Seeing her lover, Serenity asked very nicely if Ami would mind switching partners. Being too kind-hearted to refuse her friend, Ami let go of the prince's hands only to have them be picked up by Zoicite. Neither could look each other in the eye until Zoicite finally spoke, in a voice so low, Ami almost didn't hear him. "You...you look breathtaking Ami." _

_She gave him a small smile, "Zoicite, you know me well enough to know that you don't have to flatter me so."_

_"I'm being honest." Looking up into his face, she realized he was being completely honest, and that did not help her nerves at all. Unable to take the tension any longer Ami gathered up her courage to talk to him._

_"We should talk." They both stated at the same time._

_"You first," again the two spoke in unison. The both laughed at each other; then Zoicite spoke up, "Why don't we both say what's on our minds at the count of three?" Ami nodded. "One, two three-"_

_"I only want to be friends with you." They both announced to each other. The unison only continued. "You do? I'm so relieved." She was relieved for the most part. So a very small part of her did wonder what it would be like to have Zoicite kiss her, but they were good friends, respected one another, and enjoyed being together, why mess with their current relationship with a doomed romance?_

_"I thought I was going to have to hurt Jadeite when we got back to the Moon, for all of the scheming he's been up to. I swear he's not acting alone." Zoicite confided to her._

_"I know; Serenity and the others are probably in on it. Thank the gods for Michi, Ruka, and Suna, if they hadn't helped me out, I would have kept feeling like a nervous basket case around you."_

_He grinned at her; a mischievous glint showing in his eyes, "I was wondering about that. Anyway, you do know that this means though don't you?"_

_She returned his grin, "Revenge?"_

_"Absolutely."_

_"Got a plan?"_

_"Umm, we could pretend that the schemes worked."_

_She shook her head. "That's like encouraging them. Besides that would put a damper on your 'activities' during royal functions and I'm a horrible liar."_

_"True, and if we pretended that we had a fight, I have a feeling that your friends Haruka and Makoto will make sure I never be able to enjoy a lady's company again." Ami giggled at his choice of words. "What if we pretend we don't know about the schemes?"_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"Well, it must be very frustrating for them to plan of these ways to get us together only to see no results. Can you imagine how annoying it will be for them to plan and instead of falling in love, we just stymie their plans any way we can? I mean this dance; you can bet that they're just watching us out of the corner of their eyes, hoping at any moment we admit our feelings for each other."_

_Ami nodded, "They're probably also whispering about how perfect we look together and so on."_

_"Exactly, and what would happen if we parted ways, with no change in our relationship, especially if we told them that all we talked about was chess or battle strategy?"_

_"They'll be disappointed." She paused, the realization dawning on her, "Very disappointed and exasperated. In fact, I'd bet they'll try again."_

_Zoicite returned her grin, "So what do you think?"_

_"It's perfect. Let me tell Michiru and the others, I think they wouldn't mind helping us for the rest of the time you're here."_

_It was exactly as they predicted. The day after the ball, everyone decided that they wanted to go out and see different parts of Mercury. Apparently, they had made plans with different dignitaries, but "forgot" to include Zoicite and Ami in their plans, so they effectively left the two alone in the palace. Both believed that somehow the schemers were actually watching their movements, so the pair tried very hard not to give into the humor of the situation. Therefore, Ami asked if Zoicite wanted to see the library, then afterwards eat lunch on the terrace, and play a game of chess. _

_"I believe that we should do something different today, Ami." Zoicite told her as they prepared the chessboard._

_"Why?" She asked innocently as she looked up to see his face._

_He gave her a grin and leaned a bit closer to her, "Well, I just thought we could spice some things a bit."_

_Smiling, she gave him a coquettish smirk,"What did you have in mind?"_

_Going in for the kill, Zoicite came a bit closer so their lips were dangerously close to one another before he answered. "Speed chess."_

_She leaned back into her seat to consider his proposition, "Agreed." She distinctively heard a curse coming from below the balcony and fought the urge to giggle. Looking at Zoicite, she could tell that he was fighting the same battle by the sparkling quality in his eyes._

_Haruka and Michiru showed up sometime later; they were concerned about leaving Ami alone with Zoicite for too long. In actuality, both Zoicite and Ami welcomed their intrusion, so when Michiru suggested using the opportunity to race, Ami practically jumped at it. On their way to the pool, Ami quickly whispered plan Zoicite and she had devised. The grin on Michiru's face told Ami that not only had the older girl approve of the new scheme, she was willing to participate in it._

_"Ami, when did you get so devious?" She asked the younger girl._

_"I blame it on Serenity. If she didn't spend most of her time trying to scam her way out of class, I wouldn't have ever needed to devise schemes to get her stay."_

_Michiru giggled at her statement before an even wider grin graced her lips, "I have an idea."_

_"Hmmm."_

_"How do you think the others will feel if Lord Zoicite flirts with all of the other girls but you?"_

_Ami looked at her friend; she had a matching grin on her face as well, "I think he needs to be more charming than usual, don't you think?"_

_They laughed before heading to the pool. Haruka and Zoicite decided to be referees; afterwards, Haruka challenged Zoicite to a fencing match. As Haruka prepared for her match, Ami took the time to tell her of the current situation, while Michiru had a few words with Zoicite. Like Michiru, Haruka felt that the idea was brilliant. She even agreed that Zoicite should be an charming cad in front of her. So, Zoicite made a point of flirting outrageously with both Michiru and Haruka, and since the two were in on what Ami and Zoicite were doing, they flirted back. When the two finished sparing, the four were fairly certain they heard several groans coming from the hallway; smirking, they just ignored it. _

* * *

There were other schemes and attempts to get the pair together, but Ami and Zoicite found it very amusing in just foiling their attempts, by talking about other things besides the obvious. Swimming, Ami felt herself grimace. If only things could have stayed so simple and carefree. Although her actual birthday came and past, the celebration was to last for full month before Ami and her friends would have to return to their lives. _People often say that hindsight is 20/20_. While she was in the water, Ami could understand the saying. Remembering the events of that month, she could see all the mistakes made; all the warnings ignored, indeed hindsight is 20/20. 

_I sum up the error in on word: Complacency_. They had gotten complacent, not just her planet, but also the entire Silver Alliance. Their complacency became the downfall of their entire way of life. The first time Ami noticed something out of place was when a guard in the palace went missing then found unconscious 2 days later. She wasn't even informed until after the fact, because no one wanted to disturb her during the celebration. Other small incidents began to pop up, missing uniforms, robberies on the outskirt of the city, but they were disjointed, random. Ami never made the connection, until it was too late for anyone to do anything about it._

* * *

"I can't believe I have to go back in a week. I can see why you love it so much Ami." Serenity told her friend as they walked to the castle's gardens. "It really is such a shame that you can't visit home more often."_

_Ami gave her friend a smile, "The Moon is my home Serenity. But you're right; I do miss being here sometimes." They continued toward another section of the castle to meet up with the others, but stopped when they heard a loud klaxon. Ami froze as she realized that the noise was their alarm sounding an attack. Her guardian instincts kicked in, grabbing the princess, Ami ran towards the throne room. _

_"Ami! Wait, what is going on, why are you running so fast? What's this horrible noise?"_

_"We're under attack. I need to get you to the throne room, hopefully the others will remember to join us there, because we'll need contact the Queen and make sure the Moon is safe before we teleport you there." Ami gasped out as she ran towards the room dragging the slower princess behind her. When Ami's words began to sink in, Serenity began to run along pace with her friend. When they got to their destination, Ami felt relief seeing the other senshi already transformed and waiting for them. They must have already contacted the Moon. Shoving Serenity into the group, Ami barely had a chance to duck from energy blast. "Go! Get her to the Moon!" She shouted as she began to create a fog in the room. Since her senshi powers were derived from Mercury, Ami was most powerful on her own planet. She didn't need to shout out the incantations needed to attack her enemy, the planet just responded to her needs._

_"But what about you?" Serenity shouted. "You may get hurt, and you'll need help."_

_"My duty is to see you safe first, and I must stay to defend my planet." She told the princess. "Don't worry about me. The others will come back as soon as you're safe." Ami turned to Minako. "GO!" Minako nodded and the girls joined hands to begin the transport._

_Before they left, Haruka turned to Ami, "Endymion and his generals are still on Mercury; they're said that they'll stay and help you in anyway they can."_

_Ami nodded as the girls were enveloped by a rainbow of colors and then were gone. Convinced that Serenity was safe, Ami's mind focused upon the danger on hand and transformed to Sailor Mercury. Who would be bold enough to attack Mercury during this time of peace? Why attack at all? Calling upon her computer, Ami quickly activated her visor to search out information on her enemy. The energy pattern was something her computer didn't recognize, but it was extremely dark and powerful. Running out of the room, Ami headed towards the balcony to see what the situation was outside of the palace. All of her life, she had been trained for battle, but no amount of training prepared her for what she saw or heard. The screams of her people, people who tried to defend themselves and the cries of the people who cruelly killed them all as Ami stood on the balcony in horror. Her home. These people were destroying her home and were having fun doing it. She felt a fury unknown to her and the planet responded to her fury by cold, harsh winter winds and snow descending upon the battlefield, while Ami teleported herself to the fray below._

_She was unsure of how long she fought or how many of her enemies she destroyed, but she kept fighting. With her visor, she could quickly spot weaknesses within her enemies' formation. Shouting instructions she watched as one of the palace guards took down an opponent. Her visor began to beep violently. Absorbing the information quickly, Ami turned around and ran towards the other side of the palace hoping that her readings were wrong. When she got there, Ami saw Endymion and the other generals fighting monsters she didn't recognize, but were giving off the same dark energy signatures her computer picked up earlier. Her father was also in the fray shouting out orders to the other fighters. Ami shook her head; her father took his responsibilities so seriously, even sick, he wouldn't abandon his people. Raising her hand, Ami joined the fight by calling on ice attack after ice attack upon her opponents. She watched helpless though as their numbers only seem to increase. Where were the others? Was it possible that the palace wasn't the only place attacked? As if answering her mental call, an image appeared on her visor screen revealing Michiru._

_"Mercury, how are you doing?"_

_"We're holding, but there's so many of there, where are you?"_

_"On the out skirts of Hermia. The Inners are on the South side of the planet, I'm sorry Mercury, but there's too many of them, the entire planet is under attack."_

_"Get as many as you can off the planet, send out the message to evacuate, Neptune, let the others know and then get out of here as soon as possible."_

_"I understand, but what about you?"_

_"This is my planet. I must lead its fight until all of my subjects are safe; go alert the others of my decision."_

_"Don't die, or else Serenity will never forgive you."_

_Ami gave her friend a smile at the remark, "I'd say the same to you. Don't worry, I have no intentions of dying today." She closed off communications as she started the work on her computer to hook up to the global network to sound evacuation alarms and to power the teleporters. Ami had finished when she saw an energy blast heading towards her._

_"AMI!" Endymion's yell kicked in her back into defensive mode quick enough for her to form a shield of ice in front of her. Unfortunately, his shout also distracted her father. The king turned and ran to his daughter to make sure she was all right. He didn't see the creature smirking at him, nor did he notice the energy ball the creature threw at him. The creature's aim was accurate and Ami screamed as her father fell on the battlefield only a few meters away from her feet. She ran to him and knelt by his side._

_"Maia are you all right?" The king asked his daughter as she cradled his body. With her visor on, Ami could tell that the damage the creature inflicted on her father was too much. She only nodded, not trusting her voice. "You must be more careful," his voice became softer and labored. _

_"I will. I promise." Her vision began to blur._

_"If your mother saw us, she'd scold me for not taking better care of you. Can't have that." He tried to laugh, but it came out as a wheeze, while Ami gave him a faint smile through her tears. "Remember, you will always be my little girl whom I'm so proud of," and the King of Mercury looked once more upon his child's face before closing his eyes one last time._

_At this point Ami knew she was crying, but she didn't care as she nodded again at her father, "That's right, I promised didn't I? Father? Father, talk to me! Father, please," she pleaded as she continued to cradle the prone body. "Father, it's Maia, your little girl, please say something." When she heard nothing, Ami let out another scream. The planet responded to her grief and rage by unleashing an ice storm. Her sobs only fueled the harsh cutting winds as the fighters watched in amazement as enemies began to freeze due to the current weather, and at the eye of the storm sat a grieving princess over the body of her loving father, two weeks after she turned 17._

_She didn't know how long she sat there sobbing, but eventually the amount of energy she used to command the planetary ice storm along with the emotional turmoil she went through took its toll. Ami collapsed over her father's body. When she awoke, she woke up around the familiar surroundings of infirmary on the Moon surrounded by the concerned faces of Artemis, Luna, and Queen Serenity. Ami tried get up, but the queen stopped her. "You shouldn't try to get up. You're still very weak from all of the energy you used Maia." Ami sank back into her bed, the queen looked over her with concerned sympathetic eyes, "Maia, how much do you remember?"_

_Ami blinked confused by the question, her mind still a bit fuzzy from sleep before the image of her last moments on Mercury, her home, bombarded her. "I," her voice croaked from being dry and lack of use. "I remember we were under attack and I got Serenity to the throne room to teleport her to the moon. Then I went out to fight, I sounded the evacuation, and then..." she paused for a minute, her grief resurfacing along with her tears, "I remember Father dying, I screamed and then I let loose an ice storm, and then nothing."_

_The queen closed her eyes in reaction to Ami's pain. When she opened them, Ami was surprised to find her crying as well. "Endymion and his generals brought you and your father's body here after you collapsed. You had used a lot of your life force in order to sustain that storm, so you were very weak when you got here. When you're ready, we'll give your father a proper burial, don't worry about the details, Artemis and Luna are taking care of it."_

_Ami nodded to the information, "What about Mercury? My people?" She asked._

_Queen Serenity sadly shook her head, "Not many got out Maia, only a couple hundred."_

_Ami only stared at her, a couple hundred out of a couple hundred million survived. How was that possible, how could she fail so badly? Her mind barely registered the fact that the queen was still talking, something about the palace in ruins and that most of the buildings in the capital were destroyed as well. She could only turn her head away and close her eyes in attempt to stop the pain and grief of her failure from consuming her. The queen saw Ami's pained expression and stopped her narration. She leaned over and stroked Ami's hair before leaving, along with her two advisors.

* * *

Jadeling's Notes: I know you all hate me. Okay, well, I have to move in two days, so this will be my last update in a while. Sorry. Dodges rotten fruit and multiple sharp items from people_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: If I owned SailorMoon, do you think I'd be writing this?_

_Author's Notes: Okay, so I finished moving, but am still unpacking. It sucks. Anyway, went to AX, hee, hee, that was fun. Anyway, am working on this fic, along with my PoT fic, and some Roswell ones as well. If you like Roswell and humor come visit me at , I have the same id. All I'm saying is that this chapter kept giving me problems._

_Faraday: I wrote some more, finally. I hope you enjoy._

_TriGemini: What happened to Mercury? Well, some of your questions will be answered below. However, don't worry, Ami finds some happiness in this chapter. I promise._

_Arabella Silverbell: I'm sorry, very, very sorry for taking so long, but as I said in the above author's notes, this chapter kept giving me problems. Besides, I'm back now, aren't I?_

_Catherine: Well, I'm glad someone liked the 'speed chess' thing. Wasn't too sure about that idea. Yeah, I wasn't very nice to Ami in the last chapter. _

_May: I try my best to please. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this too. _

_Mizu Awa: Umm, you can get up now. I didn't mean to make you stay there for a month. I swear!!_

_Nadia: I hope to finish this fic too, but so far there doesn't seem to be an end in sight yet. Hopefully, I can get Phoenix to come back soon so she can come up with more ideas. She's gone away again so she won't have to unpack._

_Icesaturn04: Umm, the others, well, I can't promise much, but I'll try. How about that?_

_Meeh2: Well, I'm glad that my story helped brighten up your day. I hope this chapter will have a similar effect._

_Princess Destiny Moon: I must confess, my idea isn't original. I got it off Storm from the X-Men, but thought, why shouldn't the different princesses effect their planets, if their powers are drawn from it?_

_Oldestof3: Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't think I started soon enough. Hope you like._

_Usagigreenleaf657: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapters._

_For all of you lurkers too! Here's the next part:_

* * *

She ended up spending a week in the infirmary before she was allowed to leave. However, even after leaving the infirmary, Serenity gave orders that Ami should be given leave from her duties until she finished mourning. She barely remembered the funeral for her father or anything around that time actually. For the most part, it was still a blur and a part of her was thankful for it. Even now as she swam, Ami couldn't stop the tears from forming as she remembered the fall of Mercury. _It was a precursor of things to come_. If only they had been more diligent, but by that time the rumors of the attack on Mercury began to have its effects on the alliance. Small outbreaks on the planets started up, the uninformed scared of the unknown enemy, and afraid that what happened on Mercury would happen on their planet.

Eventually, they figured out their enemy to be the Dark Kingdom through rumors and whispers. The data Ami recorded from her computer, along with survivors' account made the planets realized that they weren't invincible. Many meetings were held to discuss what the Dark Kingdom's intentions were, along with how to defend themselves against a repeat of Mercury. They figured out the different weaknesses of their monsters, and they found out about the brainwashing. Unfortunately, what none of them knew was how far the Dark Kingdom had already progressed. No one would find out until much later.

However, at the time Ami couldn't even focus on what went on outside of her own quarters. She tried distracting herself by playing chess, swimming, anything so she didn't have to deal with the events that had past, but nothing worked. Eventually, she went back to her duties as a senshi, but even that provided little comfort. Her friends all tried their best to cheer her up. Rei offered her spiritual guidance; Makoto insisted on making her favorite dishes for a month; Minako decided on getting her to come out of the palace and outside to explore some of the lakes; Hotaru asked for her help on work constantly; Serenity even tried to pay attention in her classes. However, as hard as they tried, Ami continued to act mechanically around everyone. She never really considered suicide, but she wasn't going to lie; the option was there in the back of her head. It got so bad that even the generals started to treat her differently, like she was a ceramic doll and if they weren't careful she would break. The only one who actually treated her like a person was Zoicite. He knew she was in pain, but refused to believe that she needed to be sheltered because of it. Yet, even he could only stand to watch her exist like a shell for so long.

* * *

_"How long to you plan on doing this?" He asked one day when she was at the infirmary working on an experiment._

_"Doing what?" She calmly responded, careful not to look him in the eyes. She felt as if she was hanging on by a thread, and if she had to look into his eyes, she'd loose it._

_"This," Zoicite hissed at her as he waved his arms exasperatedly. "You, it's like you're here, but you're not." He was angry, but Ami couldn't tell if the anger was directed at her or himself._

_"I don't know what you're talking about Zoicite." She coldly replied. _

_He narrowed his eyes before coming up with a response. "Yes, you do. You just don't want to admit it. You've been acting like a machine for the past two months. It's not healthy Ami, you can't just exist; you need to live."_

_She ruffled under his words, "I'm living just fine thank you."_

_"Sure, and that's why everybody treats you like your made out of glass. The others walk around on eggshells whenever you're around, because they're afraid that if they're not careful you'll hurt yourself."_

_"You don't seem to have any trouble with criticizing me."_

_Her flippant remark did not help his mood. He glared at her, "It's not going to work, so just stop it."_

_"Stop what?" She asked innocently._

_"You're trying to make me angry. Angry enough that I'll leave. Nice try, but I saw that one coming. As I was saying everyone is scared because they think it's the grief that eating away at you but it really isn't."_

_"Really?" She said, trying her best to ignore how close he was to her now._

_"No," his tone was softer, kinder, "it's the guilt. You were the princess, your planet's defender, warrior, the one who was supposed to protect everyone. Yet only a few of your people survived including you."_

_Ami froze at his words but when he finished talking she turned to look at him. His emerald eyes only reflected his concern for her well-being, while she felt hot tears in spilling out of her own. "I should have done something. I could have done something. So many died in the first attack and I still can't figure out how they got past our defense shield in the first place. It was **my responsibility**, **my duty,** and **I failed** because I was too busy having fun for my birthday." Her voice dripping with venom, as the tears kept flowing down her face._

_"Go ahead and say it Ami, it's been on your mind for a while now." He prodded._

_"**Why didn't you leave me there to die?!**" Her anguish was undeniable._

_"Because Princess Serenity would have never forgive us if we didn't, and because your friends would have all of our heads if we didn't bring you back with us." Zoicited replied in all seriousness, but the answer prompted a small giggle from her._

_"That's does sound like them doesn't it?" She said softly as she sniffled tried to try her tears._

_He looked at her again, "And now? Do you still wish you were dead?"_

_She blinked surprised at his question before she answered, "I...I have duties, I have responsibilities to Serenity. I cannot abandon them or my friends." Ami gasped out._

_"You have a duty to your heart and a responsibility to your own wellbeing too. As much as your friends love you, they want you to be happy too. If you feel like your happiness lies with your parents in the next life, I think they'll understand. However, I can tell you that we'd all miss you very much, Ami." He quietly told her. She glanced at him realizing that he was offering a choice without any pressure for either result. It was really very simple, did she want to live or did she wish to die? His words made sense, if she chose life, she had to choose because deep down she wanted to live. Ami couldn't live just for her friends or for her duty; she needed to live for herself. She gave him a teary smile._

_"Thank you."_

_He looked at her surprised. "What for?"_

_"For being my friend."_

* * *

It took a while, but eventually she was able to smile and laugh again in the palace. Her conversation with Zoicite made her see how selfish she was being, and how hollow she had become. Ami finished another lap and stopped again. Was another confrontation with herself what she needed at this point? She just wanted to decipher what was going on in her mind so these memories would stop haunting her. So what? She should have a crying session when she was alone? Somehow, she had a feeling that it was going to take a bit more than that. She stood up and glanced over the pool, should she continue or should she stop for the day? Now that she was standing, she actually noticed that her muscles felt a bit sore. It was probably a good idea to do a cool down and then take a nice relaxing shower before leaving. So she slowly swam a couple more laps this time concentrating on just relaxing her muscles before getting out of the pool.

As she let the shower water hit her, she basked in the warmth it gave her. The warm shower made her feel relaxed and safe too. Unbidden another memory popped into her head. A memory Ami didn't want to think about because it threatened to ruin the nice warm and fuzzy feeling she was having at the moment. It was a memory of him holding her._ For once, can't I take a nice warm shower or bath without having to think about that? Is that too much to ask?_ Her irritation at herself soon gave way to embarrassment. What had happened to that icy control she had when she was a princess? Why couldn't she just revert back to being icy when she thought about **that?** Oh no, instead she usually just ended up daydreaming about all of the old feelings she thought somewhat bitterly. Well, she was building herself up to this all day so she might as well just go back into the memories again.

* * *

_Endymion and the generals had returned to Earth about 2 months after the attack on Mercury to deal with small insurrections and other matters. Now, they had been gone for 4 months, and during that time Ami began to think more and more about Zoicite. Ever since their confrontation in the infirmary, Ami discovered that she had done what she feared most. She fell in love with him. It was a revelation that did not please her at all. She was sure of his friendship, but anything else was suspect. Besides, as she told Michiru and the other outer princesses, he was attracted to women completely different from her, so why torture herself. Some how this was all his fault, why did he have to be so nice, intelligent, charming, and handsome? Why couldn't he just stay the arrogant, flirting, annoying cad that she first thought he was? Why? Ami thought as she looked over their unfinished chess game. She was suppose to send him her response but she couldn't concentrate on the game._

_"Ami, are you here?" Hotaru's voice echoed through out the empty library._

_Ami shook her head to rid herself the last remnants of her reverie. "I'm by the windows Hotaru." She told her younger friend. "Is there something I can help you with?" The young princess of Saturn came over and showed Ami her mask. There was a masquerade ball tonight, and now that Hotaru was 13, she would be allowed to join the others in attendance. Ami had decided on to dress as a water sprite. Hotaru's mask was suppose to represent her namesake, a firefly, however something went wrong during the creation process and Ami could see many cracks and chips on the purple and gold mask. "The damaged isn't too bad. I have some plaster we can use to fill in the chips and cracks. Do you still have the purple and gold paint?" Hotaru nodded. "Good, come on we'll fix this now."_

_"Ami, you know how the Queen stated that I needed someone to stand with me tonight?" Ami nodded as she walked down the corridors of the palace towards the craft rooms for the needed plaster. "Would you mind terribly standing with me?" Hotaru asked her eyes wide. Ami smiled at the young princess._

_"I'd be happy to stand with you Hotaru."_

_The ball was true to the opulence known from the Moon Kingdom. The crystal chandeliers shone providing a prisming effect all over the ballroom, making the dancers appear to be encased in rainbows. Amidst the marry music and the gay dancers stood Ami and Hotaru by the balcony watching the dancers as they passed them by. Ami had expressed quite often that she did not wish to dance, because she would leave her friend alone. Hotaru also denied invitations for the same reason. However, they still were enjoying themselves because they noticed a group of five masked men in the room whom seem very familiar. Ami gasped as she realized that they were Endymion and his generals, but they weren't expected to come. Hotaru heard her gasp and turned her head to see what caused Ami's reaction. They both grinned as they saw the prince make his way to Princess Serenity to claim a dance. Their smiles widened as they saw Serenity's reaction upon recognizing her lover's presence. Ami's smile got wider as she saw Kunzite find Minako, the way her friend's eyes lit up was unforgettable. Hotaru was the next to gasp and Ami turned her head to see what had gotten her friend's attention. Ami definitely felt her jaw drop as she saw a masked Rei dancing and laughing with a disguised Jadeite. Since when did they start a relationship, or did they just not recognize each other? Shrugging Ami noticed a yawn coming out of Hotaru's mouth. The unmasking wouldn't happen until the end of the ball, and it was still a couple of hours away._

_"Did you want to stay?"_

_Hotaru shook her head, "I'm actually very tired; perhaps it's best if I retire for the night."_

_Discreetly they made their way towards one of the secret passageways so they could exit unseen. After promising Hotaru that she'd tell the younger girl everything that occurred at the unmaking, Ami made her way back to the ballroom. Once back, Ami saw a frustrated Makoto dancing with a very amused Nephrite; apparently, her friend couldn't figure out the identity of her partner. She was making her way back to her spot by the balcony when a very familiar voice asked for a dance. Turning she was confronted by a set of laughing emerald eyes. Taking his hand, she allowed herself to be led to the dance floor._

_"Do you know what I like about masquerades?" He asked her._

_"What?"_

_"It gives people chances to act completely differently than normal. For an example, a usually calm stoic general can relax and maybe even laugh." _

_"And what about a man with a reputation for flirting and seducing women?" She inquired._

_He brought her a little closer to him so he could whisper into her ear, "He'll finally be able to spend time dancing with a sprite instead of just playing chess with her." He leaned back, he eyes twinkling at her blush._

_"Suppose the sprite wanted to be left alone?"_

_"Then afterwards, he'll apologize for his inconsiderate behavior. But does the sprite really wish for her partner to leave?"_

_Ami looked at her partner, his face showing nothing, but his eyes were anxious awaiting her answer to his question. She smiled and feeling bolder because of their conversation and the atmosphere of the ball, and placed her head on his shoulder, moving closer to his body as they continued their dance. "No, she rather enjoys his company." Ami smiled at the stunned expression his eyes made at her actions, but his eyes quickly softened at her words and he tightened his embrace. She liked feeling his warmth against her body. She felt warm and safe in his arms and closed her eyes to enjoy the moment._

_Even after they danced a while longer, he never left her side. Without even talking about their feelings or the consequences of their actions both silently acknowledged that something in their friendship had changed. It was in the way he stood by her for the rest of the evening, the way he held her close to him when they weren't on the dance floor, and her silent acceptance at his actions. When they weren't dancing he placed his arm around her waist to keep her close to him, and she smiled at the gesture. It was loose, but she was still close enough to him to warn others that he did not intend to loose her to another partner unless she wished to dance with another. If she felt someone was bothering her, he'd pull her closer and glare at the unwanted person until said person would leave and she began to relax again. If he was being bothered by a coquettish woman who didn't understand the word "no," then she would calmly remind the woman that he wasn't interested while taking his other hand into her own. Both of them smirking as disappointed suitors and scowling women left them alone._

_As the hour of unmasking came closer, the couple danced for a while longer before walking towards the balcony for some air. Ami couldn't help but feel a bit sad, this night was special; when it was over they would have to talk. She walked out to the end of the balcony to look out at the stars and saw the beauty of a blue Earth. Her companion stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Both of them stood there in comfortable silence not wanting to disrupt their new fragile bond. She was unsure of the time they spent out there without speaking, but she eventually turned to her partner. "I promised a friend I'd tell her what happened during the unmasking. We probably should get back so I won't break my promise."_

_He nodded at her, his green eyes now held a look of confusion, and his mouth was in a thin straight line, "I...Ami..." he whispered hoarsely. _

_Ami placed a finger on his mouth to stop him, "It's been a wonderful night; please let's not ruin the illusion of the masquerade by bringing up reality now. Things will not change when the morning comes, and we can talk then." She said softly. He nodded again at her words before offering her his hand to lead her back into the ballroom. Before accepting, she leaned forward to give him a soft kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for the lovely evening, Zoicite."_

_They returned in time for the unmasking and laughed, as a very indignant Rei found out the man she found so charming was none other than Jadeite. Ami smiled watching a stunned Makoto only gaped at a grinning Nephrite after he removed his mask. They quickly joined Minako, Serenity, and their partners as they chatted and teased their friends about their masked partners. They all laughed as they heard surprised shrieks all over the ballroom, from people discovering whom they really were dancing and possibly kissing with all night._

_In the morning, she received a missive from Zoicite, but instead of his usual chess move, it was a message asking her where they could talk in private. Knowing he wished to get away from the prying eyes of both her and his friends she replied back telling him to use the passageway at the pool and she'd meet him halfway inside to lead him back to her private rooms without arousing the others' suspicions. He surprised her by sending another message stating he would just teleport into her room if she didn't mind. _

_She sat at her window seat playing her lyre as she waited for him to arrive. It was early afternoon when she saw him teleport into her room. Looking at him, Ami was surprised to see him extremely agitated. He was so anxious that he didn't even give her a proper greeting, instead Zoicite started to pace around the area in front of her bed muttering to himself. Concerned she rose and walked closer to him, she heard him utter some words like "her reputation," "responsibility," "duties," and "wouldn't work." Worried she spoke to him, "What 'wouldn't work?'"_

_Zoicite suddenly stopped his mutterings and looked around his surroundings. He seemed surprised by the fact that he was in Ami's chambers, as if he hadn't intended to teleport there at all. He frowned, "I thought I teleported to my room, what am I doing here?" Ami giggled at his confusion that only made his frown bigger._

_"I'm sorry, Zoicite, but this is the second time you've come into my chambers and didn't seem to know it." She told him between giggles. He paused as he pondered her words before giving her a sheepish grin. "Now," Ami continued with a soft smile, "you never answered my question, what 'wouldn't work?'"_

_Zoicite's relaxed posture immediately went back to being tense. He obviously did not want to talk to her about his thoughts at that moment. "I'm not sure how to say this," he muttered. "Last night...what happened last night can't happen again Ami."_

_She widened her eyes in shock; she was so sure that he would say the opposite. After all this was Zoicite, the man had seduced and flirted with at least half of the women of the court. He was proud of his reputation, making a princess fall in love with him would send that reputation to another level, and instead, he was doing everything he could to convince her to be just friends. A part of her mind was telling her that she should be angry with him for being arrogant enough to think she felt more than friendship for him. However, a larger part of her found the whole situation ironic. Ami thought she would have to be the one telling Zoicite all the reasons why their relationship wouldn't work, while he would be the one telling her that it could. Yet, somehow, a role reversal occurred, and she was forced to listen to him._

_"...if we're romantically linked your reputation would suffer for it. I know how vicious some of the court gossip can get, and I don't want to see you hurt that way. There's also the matter of the Mercury Counsel. Granted, only one or two members survived, but if the counsel found out that you were with someone of my reputation, they would demand that you stop seeing me anyway. Besides we both have responsibilities..." he rattled on._

_Ami stifled a giggle; she couldn't help it. Here was Zoicite, one of the most intelligent and well-spoken men in the alliance blithering like a nervous school boy. Then she realized that he actually was very nervous, was it possible that this speech was more for his benefit than hers? Although his speech was disorganized, Ami could tell he put a great deal of thought to his reasons, and she couldn't find fault with them. He was putting up a very logical argument, but that was also the flaw in it. He was being too logical. Ami decided it was time to find out how he really felt about the situation. "I agree." She abruptly told him._

_He stopped, stunned by her exclamation. "You, you do?" Was Ami imagining things, or did she actually see a hint of disappointment in his eyes?_

_"Hmm," she nodded as she walked closer to him. "You've made a very convincing and logical argument; I just have one problem though." She stopped inches from him. She looked straight into his eyes, "I don't think you meant a word of it." She continued, "And I believe I can prove it too, but I'll make a deal with you. If I'm wrong, I'll agree to never mention this subject again, I won't try to convince otherwise, and we can go on being friends." _

_He raised an eyebrow at her, "Really, we'll never have to do this again?" She nodded, hoping her face revealed none of her intentions. He gave her a wary look before answering, "All right, how to you plan to obtain your proof?"_

_She lifted her head up to him defiantly before reaching up to place her arms around his neck and gave his lips a soft sweet kiss. Ami felt Zoicite stiffen in momentary surprise before he returned her kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. They remained locked together in each other's embrace for a couple of moments before Ami pulled away. Still looking right into his eyes, she made one request, "Tell me again why we shouldn't be together." She bit her lip as she watched Zoicite ponder her request; she followed her heart, would he do the same? She could almost hear the wheels turning in his head, the longer they stood there, the more anxious she became. _

_After waiting for a while, Ami decided that Zoicite was just going to bury his feelings; she turned away to walk out of her room. But before she could even take a step, he grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him again before lowering his lips upon hers once more. Her kiss was innocent and undemanding, showing him that she cared. His kiss was desperate and insistent, telling her how much he needed her. He held her possessively close to him and placed one of his hands on her cheek. After a couple of minutes, they pulled apart, both breathless, and Zoicite appeared to be pleased but emotionally drained. His eyes had a slightly dazed look, and he bemusedly sat at the foot of her bed. Ami on the other hand was happy at the turn of events; she was important to him; important enough that he was willing to give her up instead of possibly hurting her. He finally looked up to her, his eyes alert again, sparkling but questioning, "Are you sure?"_

_She thought of a hundred different responses, but quickly decided on one, "A good friend once told me that I had a duty to my heart." She told him as she sat down next to him. _

_He was startled by her use of his own words, but returned her smile and then began to laugh. "I can't believe I said all those ridiculous things earlier. It's a good thing nobody saw us. I'd never be able to live it down if Jadeite or Nephrite ever found out that I, the 'sauve and charming' Zoicite started babbling like a complete idiot to stop you from being with me."_

_She giggled with him, before a yawn slipped out of her mouth. She gave him an impish grin, "Sorry, I was up late last night."_

_"Well, I'll just have to find the person responsible and give him a piece of my mind. Meanwhile, you have a couple of hours before dinner, why don't you rest of a while?" Without waiting for her reply, he picked her up; walked around to the side of her bed and gently placed her down on her pillows and blankets. He turned to leave when she grabbed his arm._

_"Stay, until I fall asleep." She requested softly. He rewarded her with a soft, gentle smile, which she knew was meant for her and her alone, before nodding. He went to her desk to grab the chair and then sat by her bed; he held her hand until she closed her eyes to welcome the oblivion of dreams._

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_Jadeling's Notes: So, how was it?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own SailorMoon; I just like to write about the characters._

_Author's notes: This chappy gave me problems…a lot of problems…eh…I hope you all like._

_Chibi-yumi: Thanks! Glad you enjoy the story!_

_Catherine: I had lots of fun writing the masquerade. The Rei and Mokoto parts were like icing on a cake, simple and sweet._

_Arabella Silverbell: Here's the next chapter, enjoy!_

_Usagigreenleaf657: Is Zoicite going to show up in the present? Maybe. Actually, I haven't really decided yet._

_TriGemini: As I stated above, don't know if I'll have Zocite show up in modern Tokyo. This is suppose to be a story with angst in it…_

_Suisei no mitsukai: Thanks, I try to make all of my characters as real as possible, and worry that their relationship didn't seem natural. Good to know that someone thinks so._

_Bob: You know, I may just have to have two endings for this fic…_

_Oldestof3: I just hope you like where I plan to take this fic._

_MiSSFiLiPPiNES: Well, I've written some more…I just take a long time to update._

_Hana1: Here you go!_

_Mizu Awa: Ummm, I hope you didn't hurt yourself waiting for this update….oops…what can I say, Phoenix wasn't very helpful at all! (glares at muse)_

_Firegoddess372: Sorry for the wait, I hope you like._

_Witchy-grrl: Yes, a babbling Zoicite is very cute, which was why he had to show up in the fic. So you want to know more do you? Well, here's a new chapter, I just hope you like what you read._

_Neviegirl: Thanks for the review, now you can read and find out._

_Cereberus: Thanks for the praise, I didn't mean to take so long but sometimes…I just can't seem to find the write words at all._

_New York Hope: Yes, I do intend to continue, and to finish this story. I even see a sequel and/or at the very least some other stories dealing with some of the other characters from this story. I just haven't decided what exactly I want to do first._

_Zoicite's choice of nickname for Ami is Mia, why? Because translated from Latin it means "Mine" and it seemed appropriate for him._

_To everyone out there, I just want you all to know that I do intend to finish this fic, but I don't know how long it will take me. Currently, I work two jobs and just find less and less time to write. Please be patient with me, and I'll try my best to update.

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_

Ami opened her eyes, and placed her hands over her face to wipe off the excess water. After their conversation, there were changes in their public appearances. To the amazement of the court, Zoicite abruptly stopped his flirtations with various women, instead he was always seen by the side of Ami, and what furthered stunned the court was her silent acceptance of his presence. They couldn't believe that Ami, the Ice Queen, would even tolerate the company of some like him. Ami smiled as she remembered the astonished whispers of different nobles as he escorted her to a concert one night. Zoicite had acquired a reputation of being "the life of the party" during formal events, but since they started being together he became much more subdue and protective of her. Meanwhile she seemed to become more outgoing with him, shocking people when she would laugh with him, and even started to stay at the events for their full length, instead of making her usual exit when it was possible.

Kunzite once congratulated Ami for "getting Zoicite to take something seriously for once;" Zoicite knew that this was the first time Ami was romantically involved with someone, and he did everything he could to prove to her that he was serious about making it work. Whenever they were in public, he knew how to stay close to her without making her feel confined, and when they were alone, he never pushed her, allowing her to control the pace of their relationship. She appreciated the gesture, aware of how much self-control he exerted when he was with her.

But they weren't lovey-dovey all of the time. They had their share of encounters with vindictive ex-lovers and disappointed suitors, along with spats and misunderstandings. Ami frowned as she remembered a particularly bitchy countess, who believed she could get anybody she wanted. Apparently, she decided that seducing Zoicite away from Ami would be an interesting challenge. Ami smirked at the memories of said countess's face when Zoicite told her that she was a "pale, weak imitation, a vicious shark, who would bore him to tears, and why would he want to be with her when he had her superior," as the warm water fell on her back. Then there was the fact that he tended to be jealous. He never liked the way some of the noblemen would flirt with her during legislative meetings, but neither could do much about that. However, he'd fumed about it when they were alone, and she had to admit there were times when it grated on her nerves, and she let him know it.

Still, there was the ever-present danger of the Dark Kingdom. Although the other planets were able to banish and destroy remnants of the Dark Kingdom, nothing seemed to be able to beat their small hold on Earth. Because of the constant presence of the enemy, Zoicite and the other generals routinely had to go to back to search out the stronghold. Ami knew it was his duty to serve Endymion and never questioned it, but she never liked it when he was gone. It made her apprehensive and after what had happened on Mercury, she was scared of losing him. Ami tried hard not to show how nervous she would be whenever he had to leave, but he knew. It was why he never told her "good-bye" when he left, always a firm "I'll come back," except for the last time.

* * *

_Ami was waiting for him by the pool. She stood by the side drawing small circles in the water with her foot when she felt his arms around her waist and his lips on her neck as she leaned back into his body. They stood there just watching and listening to the water before he seemed to realize that she was shaking. "Mia," he only called her that when they were alone. "Why are you shaking?" He asked concerned. _

_"Am I? Sorry, just anxious I guess." She replied trying to keep her voice from trembling. _

_He held her tighter, "It'll be all right," he stated correctly guessing the reason for her nervousness. "According to our intelligence Beryl's stronghold is somewhere in Europe. If we can take it out, then not only will Earth be safe but the alliance as well. We can get rid of the Dark Kingdom for good."_

_"I know; I, I just wish I could go with you, Zoi. I hate waiting to hear whether you survived a skirmish." She finished with a sad sigh._

_He gave her a soft kiss at the base of her neck, "I know it must be hard for you, but there's no way I'd let you come with me. If you're on the Moon, I'll know that you're safe and won't have to worry about you. I want you to be alive, but more importantly, I want you to be happy." He turned her around so he could look at her face, "Do you know how frightened I was on Mercury when I saw you collapse?" She shook her head, "I was a nervous wreck for the next two days before you woke up; Queen Serenity ordered me out of the infirmary because she thought I would end up hurting myself." Zoicite laughed at the memory, "I kept telling myself I was so concerned because you a good friend, a good warrior. Then you woke up, but you were a ghost, and I didn't understand why it pained me so much to see you hurting like that._

_It wasn't until we left that I finally figured out how much I cared you." He shook his head before looking at her again, "And you know what was ironic?" She didn't answer him, waiting for him to continue. "Realizing my feelings for you frightened me more than the thought of loosing you in battle. It was unfathomable; I, who had flirted, seduced, so many different women, be afraid of a quiet, studious princess. I thought that I was just infatuated. I agreed to come to the masquerade to prove something. I was going to prove to myself that you didn't have that power over me, but as soon as you placed your head on my shoulder I knew I was lost. You could have ordered me to jump off the balcony that night, and I would have done it. So afterwards, I thought of all the reasons why we wouldn't work. How many different ways I could just end up hurting you, your reputation, distracting you from your duties, I had a fairly sound argument too. I had hoped that you would hear the speech and get so mad at my arrogance that you'd kick me out and order me to stay away from you. And, well, you know what happened."_

_"Zoi, why are you telling me all of this?" She implored softly, not understanding his urgency. "You're going to come back. You just said-"_

_He placed his index finger on her mouth. "I only said that things will turn out 'all right' I never said that I'll come back. I won't lie to you Mia, we're both soldiers, we know the risks of war, because we **are **at war. No, let me finish what I have to say." He told her when she opened her mouth to protest. "We going to be attacking the strongest base of the Dark Kingdom, I've already calculated the odds and they're not good Mia. But that's not what I have to tell you, on my way over, I discovered something. I never told you I love you." Her eyes widened at his admission. "So before I have to leave I'm telling you now, I love you Ami." He cupped her face in his hands as he leaned forward so their foreheads were centimeters apart. His voice was only a whisper, "I love how you can be an innocent princess one second and then a fierce fighter the next. I love that you can be serious and in an instant, you can be laughing, even if it's at my expense. I love the way your face lights up when you see me. I love the way you relax when I hold you. I love the way you pout when you don't get what you want. I love the way your eyes reflect every emotion your feeling. I love you so much I feel pain when I'm not with you. I love your mind, your heart, your soul. If I don't come back I want you to know, to never doubt how much I love you. I don't want to leave this life without letting you know how much you mean to me." He trailed off as he kissed away the tears falling on her face._

_"I scared Zoi; I'm frightened because I love you. I hate the idea of you leaving me to fight, and you might not come back. I feel so helpless and scared, and I abhor the fact that I'm admitting this, because I have to be strong for the others, for you, and for myself." She lowered her head, but he placed his hand on her chin to bring her face up. _

_"What is it Mia?"_

_"What if worse happens and none of you come back? How do I know that I'm strong enough to stand that, that the girls can handle that possibility?"_

_He pulled her into a tight embrace, his head on top of hers, "You are strong enough, because you've gone through it once, you can survive it again. We don't know the future; one of us may still come back." He backed away slightly to grin at her again, "So...you love me?"_

_Ami felt a faint smile forming; she had almost forgotten she had admitted her feelings for him tonight as well. "Yes, I do. How could I not love someone who loves me so much?" She grinned at his stunned face. This time she placed her fingers on his mouth so she could explain. "I first suspected your feelings for me maybe more than friendship after you made me confront my grief and guilt, but you were on Earth and I didn't know when I'd see you again, so I buried my suspicions. _

_When we met again at the masquerade, you never left me, not even when we stood in silence." Her voice grew softer as she reflected on the past, "You never did that before, even on the night of my birthday, after our dance you went off to find other partners. Of course, there was that speech in my room, as I told you that day it was very logical and well planned out, but you were 'off.' I've heard things from court gossip, it's one of the advantages of being quiet; people tend to forget you're present and say a little too much. You've been with other woman friends, and you've never been known to dissuade their advances, let alone try to convince them to not be with you. So I had to ask myself why would you'd bother, and I came up with a couple of ideas, but the one that made the most sense was that you didn't want to me to get hurt._

_Yet, what really gave you away were your eyes. Whenever you see me, you always give me this look, which makes me feel like I'm the most important person to you. I've seen you with other women, Zoi; you never looked at them like you look at me, that's how I knew that you loved me; but I didn't know if you admitted it to yourself. I didn't want to say anything because I was scared that if you knew how deep my feelings were, you'd leave." She concluded honestly. Then Ami became somber again. "When are you leaving?"_

_"Kunzite and Endymion want us to be ready before the dawn. We have about 6 hours." He told her softly._

_"You should rest." She told him as she tried to leave his embrace, but he only tightened his hold around her waist._

_"I'm not going to be able to sleep."_

_"We can't stay here for the next 6 hours standing by the pool; you should get some rest." _

_"And where do you purpose we do? Have me stay in your room?" He placed a hand over her mouth to prevent her from speaking, "I can just see how some court gossips would say if they saw me sneaking out of your chambers."_

_She wanted to argue with him, to tell him she didn't care. However, war or no war, palace life still demanded a degree of decorum and appearance. So she compromised, "Then let's go the library. The balcony overlooking the water gardens has a large settee we can use." Ami suggested. _

_"Are you sure the library is empty at this time; I seem to remember a conversation we had at one time..."_

_"Well, we do outrank any lord or lady, we could always order them to be silent." She tried to tease, but the effort didn't lighten his mood. In fact it only seemed to add to his discomfort. "Seriously, the library is closed to only the high ranking members of the court this late at night. The high-ranking members being the Queen, Serenity, and the other inner princesses. If we did run into anyone, we'd only run into friends probably trying to do the same thing we're doing."_

_"And what would that be, Mia?" He asked her softly._

_"Playing chess, talking, kissing, arguing, I don't know, and I don't care as long as we can be together." She lowered her head a bit, "We could even..."_

_He quirked an eyebrow at her implication before stroking her cheek, "We could, but we won't because I want our first time to be special, because we're both ready to take that step, and not because of some threat due to war. On the other hand, a soft cushioned seat doesn't sound like a bad idea."_ _So he wrapped his cape around her as sakura blossoms swirled around them before they were engulfed in a warm pink light and teleported to the library balcony a few steps away from the very couch Ami mentioned. They stood there for a moment before he kissed her again while the two of them made their way to the settee. When they fell on top of the cushions they finally broke away and both realized that to go any further probably would not be the best of ideas. However, they were both unwilling to separate from their embrace; somehow they decided to talk, to discuss anything other than the upcoming war._

_Ami wasn't sure how long they sat there; Zoicite sitting on one side, his head being supported by one of the armrests with his legs lying across the rest of the length of the sofa, while Ami laid by his side, her head on top of his chest, as he absently stroke her hair. Even though they knew a great deal about each other it seemed as if they didn't know enough as they chatted about their childhoods; she asked about his life on Earth, while he asked her what her life was like on Mercury before she came to the Moon. He reminisced on how he met the other generals and his first impressions of the other planets. She recalled her first time coming to the moon and being received by the court of the Moon. They continued to talk until they just sat there enjoying their last moments together in silence. She wasn't sure when, but eventually lulled by the steady beating of his heart and his warmth, Ami fell asleep. _

_When Ami awoke, she found herself in her own bed. Zoicite must have teleported her to her room after she fell asleep. Judging by the light shinning through the windows, she knew that he already departed with the other generals; she stood up and glanced out of the window towards the large blue orb, known as Earth before she noticed the note on her desk. There was only one word written in it._

_"Good-bye."_

_

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Jadeling's Notes: Yeah, I have a feeling you guys aren't going to be liking me for a while..._


End file.
